Railway-tie.



C. A. SIMS.

RAILWAY TIE.

APPLICATION FILED D30. 20, 1907.

Patented Dec. 8, 1908.

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CLARENCE A. SIMS, OF. CRANDALL, INDIANA.

RAILWAY-TIE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 8, 1908.

Application filed December 20, 1907. Serial No. 407,858.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE A. Snvrs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Crandall, in the county of Harrison and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Railway-Tie, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway ties and fasteners and one of its objects is to provide a metallic tie formed of sheet metal and provided with simple means whereby the rails supported by the tie will be effectively cushioned, the cushions being protected from the elements by rail fasteners of novel form.

Another object is to provide fasteners having novel means for securing. them u on the tie, said fasteners being positive .y held against accidental displacement.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction and" combinations of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings is shown the preferred form of the invention.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of a tie embodying the present improvements, the fasteners and a portion of the cushioning block bein removed from one end thereof and the middle portion of the tie being broken away. Fig. 2 is a section on line .tr, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on line yy, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the rail engaging plates.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, 1 designates the body of the tie which is preferably formed of sheet metal such as steel and bent into rectangular shape with longitudinal folds 2 along the base thereof and extending laterally therefrom, said folds forming retaining flanges designed to be embedded within the ballast so as to prevent the tie from pulling upward. The longitudinal edge portions of the metal constituting the tie preferably lap along the center of the tie top and are permanently fastened together'in any preferred manner as by means of rivets 3.

The top portion of the tie is cut away near.

each end to form rectangular openings 4 and secured within the tie directly below each opening is an inverted U-shaped metal chair 5 the longitudinal edges of which rest upon the bottom of the body while the side portions bear against the sides thereof and are riveted or otherwise fastened to them as inditween the retaining strips 7.

cated at 6. The top portion of each chair is designed to close the opening 4 thereabove. Formed along the longitudinal edges of each opening 4 are upstanding retaining strips 7 each of which has an outwardly extending flange 8 provided with elongated notches or recesses 9. A cushioning block 10 of wood or other suitable material is designed to rest upon that portion of each chair exposed within the opening 4 and to fit snugly be- Moreover, each block extends above these strips so as to support a rail 11 out of contact therewith.

For the pur ose of fastening rails to the tie securing p ates of novel form are employed. Two of these plates are provided for each rail upon each tie and as shown particularly in Fig. 4 each plate, which is indicated by the numeral 12, has a downwardly extending flange 13 along one'edge while at its opposite edge is located an upwardly extending angular flange 14 designed to lap and bear upon the base flange of a rail. Extendin laterally from the plate and preferably -c ose to flange 14 are oppositely extending hooked ears 15 preferably bent downward from the plane occupied by the plate and of less width than the length of the recesses 9 heretofore referred to.

When it is desired to secure a rail upon the tie herein described the same is placed upon the cushioning block 10 so that the notches or recesses 9 in each flange 8 will appear at opposite sides thereof. A plate 12 is then p aced upon the block 10 at each side of the rail and with ears 15 resting within the recesses 9. The two plates are then slid to ward the rail so that ears 15 will move partly out of the recesses 9 and into engagement with flan es 8. After the parts are thus assemble a yoke shaped strap 16, which is designed to straddle the tie, is placed across each plate 12 with its end portions between the ears 15 and the outer end walls of the recesses 9. These straps therefore act as keys to prevent the plates 12 from moving out of enga ement with the rails and in order to secure the straps against displacement a bolt 17 is extended transversely through each strap and the tie, there being slots 18 formed within the end portions of each strap for the reception of the bolt.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the straps 16 are preferably of different widths and when the parts are initially secured in place the broadest straps are placed upon the tie between the rails while the narrower ones are placed outside the rails. By arranging the partsin this manner after the inner faces of the rails become Worn through constant use the inner and outer straps can be interchanged, thus permitting the rails to be forced closer together and maintain the proper gage. Although the tie is formed practically entirely of metal it will be apparent that the desirable cushioning efl'ect is produced by the blocks 10 and inasmuch as the device is formed entirely of sheet metal it can be manufactured at comparatively slight cost and will at the same time be durable and eflicient. Should a derailment occur and one or more of the straps 16 be sub'ected to the Weight of a car the slots 18 within the straps permit a limited movement thereof and there would be no danger therefore of the bolts 17 becoming broken as a result of such a contingency.

It will be seen that the chairs 5, strips 7, and plates 12 with their flanges 13, constitute housings which practically completely inclose the cushioning blocks which are as a result protected from the action of the weather and thus rendered more lasting than would otherwise be the case.

What is claimed is:

l. A metallic tie having retaining strips, rail engaging devices slidably engaging said strips, and means embracing the tie for preventing the movement of each rail engaging device in one direction upon the strips.

2. The combination with a metallic rail having flanged retaining strips; of railengaging devices slidably engaging said flanges, and means engaging the flanges and embracing the tie for holding each rail engaging device against movement in one direction.

3. The combination with a tie. having flanged retaining strips, there being recesses within said flanges; of rail engaging devices slidably mounted on the flanges and having means insertible within the recesses and slidable into engagement with the flanges, and devices for locking said means in engagement with the flanges.

4. The combination with a tie having flanged retaining strips, there being recesses within said flanges; of rail engaging devices slidably mounted on the flanges and having means insertible within the recesses and slidable into engagement with the flanges, and yokes embracing the tie and within the recesses for locking said means in engagement with the flanges.

5. The combination with a tie having flanged retaining strips, there being recesses within said flanges; of rail engaging devices slidably mounted on the flanges and having means insertible within the recesses and slid able into engagement with the flanges, yokes embracing the tie and within the recesses for locking said means in engagement with the flanges, and means for securing said devices to the tie.

6. The combination with a metal tie hav ing flanged retaining strips, each flange having recesses therein; of rail engaging plates mounted upon said strips, hooked extensions thereon insertible into the recesses and shiftable into engagement with the flanges, and locking means insertible between said extensions and the walls of the adjoining recesses.

7. The combination with a metal tie having flanged retaining strips, each flange having recesses therein; of rail engaging plates mounted upon said strips, hooked extensions thereon insertible into the recesses and shiftable into engagement with the flanges, and yokes disposed to straddle the tie and insertible into said recesses.

S. The combination with a tie having retaining strips; of a cushioning block upon the tie and between said strips, and a rail engaging device disposed upon said block and detachably engaging the strips, said device and strips constituting a housing for the block.

9. A tie having retaining strips thereon, each strip having a recessed flange, a cushioning block interposed between the strips, a rail engaging plate mounted upon the block and shdably engaging the flanges, a yoke seated within the recesses and embracing the tie for locking the plate in engagement with a rail, and means for detachably securing the yoke to the tie, said yoke being capable of downward movement relative to said means.

10. A tubular metal tie angular in cross section and having integral base flanges, said tie having openings in the top thereof, an inverted U-shaped chair secured within the tie and below each opening, and a cushioning device bearing upon each chair and projecting through the opening in the tie.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two vdtnesses.

CLARENCE A. SIMS.

Witnesses:

L. F. GLENN, I. P. HARMAN. 

